Marine Protected Areas

Facts about California’s Marine Ecosystems

A seal in Bolinas Lagooon

Marin’s 70 miles of Pacific coastline is home to many species of fish, including salmon, rockfish, halibut, striped bass, sturgeon, and lingcod, and several types of invertebrates, including Dungeness crab and abalone. Some of these, including lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), several species of abalone (including red abalone), and bocaccio, cowcod, canary and yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes spp.), have experienced significant population declines. Many species of rockfish grow slowly, mature late in life, and have small home territories and are thus especially vulnerable to overfishing and stock collapse.

EAC Coordinates Community Effort to Set Marine Reserves for Marin coast

EAC coordinates the West Marin Marine Protected Area Working Group, which includes environmentalists, commercial fishermen, recreational users, scientists, and public agencies. The group is working to identify a network of areas along Marin’s coast, especially some of the areas between the Point Reyes Headlands and Duxbury Reef, which, if adopted by the State Department of Fish & Game as Marine Protected Areas, would protect marine biodiversity and be supported by a wide range of stakeholders.

Researchers at Moss Landing Marine Labs have created high resolution habitat maps of these areas and UC Davis scientists have developed fish population and dispersal model that will predict how effective different areas would be at sustaining nearshore rockfish populations. In addition, the West Marin working group is joining with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories to apply for funding to produce maps with much more detailed habitat information than currently available. These maps will improve our ability to identify the areas that, if protected, will actually enable our dwindling fisheries to recover. With solid scientific grounding and a broad base of stakeholder support, we hope the Department of Fish and Game will accept our nominations for a network of Marine Protected Areas off the Marin coast.

California Marine Life Protection Act Initiative

Federal Marine Protected Areas site

Point Reyes Offshore Habitat Map

Groups

Environmental Defense

Natural Resources Defense Council

Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Point Reyes National Seashore’s Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations